Sin Becomes a God

Chapter 21: Might Makes Right (Part 2)

Abbess Mie Jue, who was wildly swinging the Yitian Sword to unleash sword energy that mercilessly reaped the lives of Ming Sect followers, glanced back and saw that a disciple of her own Emei Sect had been subdued by a phantom figure as swift as lightning. She couldn’t help but furrow her brow. The image of that masked master she had encountered earlier during the chaotic battle with the Five Elements Banners flashed through her mind. “Hmph! I let you escape by the skin of your teeth just now, but this time, let’s see where you run!” Abbess Mie Jue growled, instantly channeling her true qi into the Yitian Sword. In an instant, the Yitian Sword—the divine weapon forged by Guo Jing and Huang Rong using Yang Guo’s Mystic Iron Sword—erupted with a ten-meter-long golden sword aura. With a flick of her wrist, the golden sword energy—resembling a long whip—lashed out at the shadowy figure like an ethereal ribbon; if struck, it would undoubtedly result in dismemberment. Feeling a gust of wind rush toward him, the ghostly-looking Lu Renjia let out a bloodthirsty grin. “Hmph! You inhuman old nun—it’s you again? I haven’t even avenged that sneak attack yet, and you dare show up here again? With only 7,000 combat power, you still dare to be so arrogant? Just wait until I cripple you…” With a sudden shift in his stance, the lashing golden sword energy swept down, grazing Lu Renjia’s face. “Whoosh…” The piercing sword energy struck empty air, yet it left a shallow groove in the blue stone ground. Before Abbess Mie Jue could unleash a second sword energy, the ten-meter distance was nothing more than the blink of an eye for Lu Renjia, who possessed the two peerless martial arts techniques, *Nine Yang Divine Art* and *Great Transference of Heaven and Earth*. In a flash, a figure suddenly appeared before her. Just as Abbess Extinction hurriedly raised her sword to strike, she heard Lu Renjia’s menacing voice: “Old nun, did you enjoy slashing at me? Now it’s my turn…” No sooner had Lu Renjia finished speaking than he extended his index and middle fingers in a sword seal, and the Nine Yang True Qi, condensed into a thread, instantly penetrated Abbess Mie Jue’s Tan Zhong acupoint in her chest. In an instant, as the overwhelming, searing Nine Yang True Qi raged through her, Abbess Extinction felt as if her chest had been scorched by a red-hot iron; her Tan Zhong acupoint was injured. The true qi within her body was instantly thrown into disarray. With nowhere for the chaotic true qi to escape, Abbess Extinction felt a sweet taste in her throat and spat out a mouthful of blood. “You scoundrel… you…” Before Abbess Extinction could finish her curse, Lu Renjia struck again. The Nine Yang True Qi, condensed into a thread, not only struck seven or eight vital acupoints all over her body but finally sealed her speech acupoint as well. “Master… Huh? Zhang Wuji!!!” Zhou Zhiruo’s cry of shock was laced with disbelief. Although she hadn’t witnessed Zhang Wuji and that demonic woman from the Cult of the Demon leaping off the cliff that night, Song Qingshu’s behavior couldn’t fool her. How could the ordinary Zhang Wuji have transformed into a martial arts master in such a short time? Wasn’t even her own Master Extinction—whom she revered as a deity—no match for him? Seeing Zhou Zhiruo’s astonished expression, Lu Renjia felt a surge of malicious glee. “Surprised, aren’t you? You can scream yourself hoarse, and no one will pay you any mind…”With a flash, he appeared instantly before Zhou Zhiruo. Facing this woman—who possessed the beauty of Li Zhi but the heart of a viper—Lu Renjia not only struck several vital pressure points on her body but also seized the opportunity to give her ample bosom a hard squeeze. The two combatants, who had been locked in battle, froze in their tracks upon seeing this master—whose allegiance to good or evil was unclear—suddenly burst onto the scene. After all, in the martial arts world, perhaps only Zhang Zhenren of the Wudang School was capable of subduing Abbess Mie Jue at first glance. Song Yuanqiao and his four companions were also taken aback when they recognized Lu Renjia’s face. “Wuji? How can it be you?” Song Yuanqiao exclaimed in surprise. “Is that really you, Wuji? Hahaha… I knew that if Fifth Brother were watching from heaven, he’d surely protect you…” Yin Liting, one of the Seven Heroes of Wudang and a close friend of Zhang Cuishan, was overjoyed. Wei Yixiao, standing beside the White-Eyebrowed Eagle King, couldn’t help but widen his eyes. “White-Haired Old Ghost, could it really be your grandson? No way… Is his martial arts really that powerful? He actually took down Abbess Extinction with a single move… Damn it! You’re a real unfaithful bastard. With such a powerful grandson, why didn’t you bring him out sooner? You made me bleed so much… Wait a minute… Those despicable scoundrels from the Six Major Sects even said they’d have someone impersonate your grandson to ambush you… With his strength, forget about ambushing you—even taking you out right in front of you would be a piece of cake…” Listening to Wei Yixiao’s rambling soliloquy, the White-Eyebrow Eagle King, Yin Tianzheng, was left dumbfounded. Although he knew his beloved daughter, Yin Susu, had a son with Zhang Cuishan, this young martial arts master—while roughly the same age as his own grandson—couldn’t possibly be this powerful, even if he’d been training since the womb. Moreover, wasn’t that figure, as ethereal as smoke or a wisp of thread, identical to the way the “Great Transference of Heaven and Earth” technique had been performed by Sect Leader Yang all those years ago? Looking at the youth who had appeared before him as if floating on air, Yin Tianzheng could vaguely discern the likeness of his beloved daughter, Yin Susu, in the boy’s features. “You… are you really Wuji?” “Grandpa… I am Wuji… Rest assured, as long as I’m here today, no one will harm you…” The two Elders of Mount Hua, clad in white robes emblazoned with red crosses, began to quip upon hearing this: “You’re just making this up on the spot… You can’t even see such a serious injury—five swords stuck in his body? Are you blind?” “Exactly… Don’t think we didn’t see you taking the opportunity to grope that Emei disciple’s boobs just now… Hmph, you actually beat us to it… Senior Brother, it seems this Zhang Wuji is one of us after all…” “You’re right… It really is true that the waves of the Yangtze River push forward, with each generation more reckless than the last… It really is true that the most lecherous are the young ones…” Hearing the Hua Mountain Duo’s snide remarks, Lu Renjia’s mouth twitched. These two were something else—while others were fighting to the death, they were focused solely on two key points. Truly, everyone has their own area of expertise. With a light tap of his toe, Lu Renjia’s figure turned into a blur and instantly appeared before the Two Elders of Mount Hua. “Are you two playing Xiong Da and Xiong Er?” Although they didn’t understand who “Xiong Da” and “Xiong Er” were, the moment they saw that malicious grin spread across Lu Renjia’s face, the Two Elders of Mount Hua felt a sudden tightness in their chests. An excruciating, burning pain instantly shot through their Tan Zhong acupoints, and before they could react, a sharp pain struck their Guan Yuan acupoints. This single blow turned the faces of the usually cheerful Two Elders of Mount Hua ashen. These two top-tier martial artists, each with a combat power of 6,000, were instantly knocked to the ground. The Guanyuan acupoint is the very source of a man’s vital essence. With it struck by Lu Renjia’s overpowering, searing Nine Yang True Qi, it was likely that permanent, debilitating health issues would forever plague the Two Elders of Mount Hua. As the two elders of Mount Hua gazed at him with eyes full of despair, Lu Renjia simply sealed the speech acupoints of these two men, who were begging for mercy. Without these two clowns, the entire world suddenly became incredibly quiet. Song Yuanqiao, Yu Lianzhou, and the others had long since been left speechless with astonishment. “The… the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth… This is Sect Leader Yang’s *Great Shift of Heaven and Earth* cultivation method… White-Haired Old Ghost, when did your grandson master the Ming Sect’s sacred protective art? It seems he’s more than ten times more powerful than Sect Leader Yang was back in the day…” exclaimed Wei Yixiao, the Blue-Winged Bat King, in astonishment. At that moment, all the martial artists standing inside the Great Hall on Bright Summit fell completely silent, each staring at Lu Renjia as if he were a monster. The thrill of holding others’ lives in his hands intoxicated Lu Renjia, and the feeling of being feared by others at that moment gave him a secret sense of satisfaction. Not so long ago, in the real world, he had been nothing more than a pathetic loser who’d failed a hundred job interviews in a row—a migrant from out of town renting a partitioned cubicle in a filthy, cramped basement—a vagrant whom people wouldn’t even bother to listen to when he tried to explain himself. As he scanned the room, those so-called martial arts masters couldn’t help but lower their heads under Lu Renjia’s icy gaze. Abbess Extinction’s ferocity had long been legendary. Yet even with the Yitian Sword in her hand, Abbess Extinction had not parried a single one of their two moves. Though the Two Elders of Mount Hua were known for bullying the weak, fearing the strong, and being lecherous, when they joined forces against an opponent, even a mid-tier martial artist would have to avoid their sharpest attacks. But these two didn’t even get a chance to strike before they were subdued in a single move by this Zhang Wuji standing before them. Although Lu Renjia’s attack was extremely swift, the moment he caught a glimpse of Lu Renjia’s finger pointing toward the Guanyuan acupoints of the two Hua Mountain Elders, he knew that this Zhang Wuji was no ordinary man. Moreover, this Zhang Wuji was the grandson of Yin Tianzheng, the White-Eyebrowed Eagle King. With such a master aiding the Ming Cult, the members of the Six Great Sects—whether for the sake of their own sexual well-being or their very lives—chose to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. Lu Renjia walked up to Song Yuanqiao, clasped his hands in a bow, and said respectfully, “Grandmaster, please allow me to report: many things have happened since Wuji fell off the cliff that day. But I ask all my senior and junior masters to believe that Wuji would never do anything to betray the Wudang School…” Having said this, Lu Renjia looked at the renowned martial arts masters—who, out of fear for their own lives and martial prowess, did not wish to become the next Abbess Mie Jue or the Two Elders of Mount Hua—and a sneer crossed his face. “Ladies and gentlemen… today’s bloodshed was orchestrated by someone—or rather, it was a cunning plot by the Yuan Dynasty to eliminate our fellow martial artists in Central China… Their aim is to pit the Six Great Sects against the Ming Sect so we slaughter one another…” “Oh? Wuji, who are you referring to? Who could be so scheming? Tell your grandfather, and I will tear him to pieces…” Yin Tianzheng roared in a deep voice. Lu Renjia turned around and smiled at the White-Eyebrowed Eagle King. “Rest assured, Grandfather. That man is already dead at my hands. Come to think of it, you’ve probably heard his name before… He is Cheng Kun, the mentor of my adoptive father, the Golden-Haired Lion King… and he is also the senior disciple of the Sect Leader Yang’s wife…” As Lu Renjia slowly uttered the name “Cheng Kun” and revealed his complex background, everyone—from the Six Great Sects to the members of the Ming Sect—stared in disbelief. Lu Renjia couldn’t be bothered with such concerns. After all, from the moment Zhang Wuji was placed under house arrest, the course of the world had already shifted by twenty percent. Moreover, Lu Renjia was a time traveler; once his mission was complete, his soul would return to the real world. Guided by the principle of maximizing his own interests, Lu Renjia couldn’t care less about the saying that “family scandals shouldn’t be aired in public.” When Lu Renjia revealed that Cheng Kun had first aligned himself with the Prince of Ruyang and later joined the Shaolin Temple to become a high-ranking monk of the “Yuan” generation, the Shaolin monks could no longer sit idly by. Having read Jin Yong’s original *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*, Lu Renjia knew that at this point, Kong Xing—a high-ranking monk of the “Kong” generation from the Shaolin School—would step forward. However, in the world of the film adaptation *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber: The Demon Cult Leader*, it was actually Yuan Zhen’s grandnephew who stepped forward to cause trouble for him. The athletic-looking monk pointed at Lu Renjia and shouted, “You insolent brat, how dare you spout such nonsense and slander the Shaolin School! I’ll let you taste the power of the Shaolin Dragon Claw… *Pfft*…” But before he could finish his sentence, Lu Renjia flickered into a blur and appeared right in front of him, landing a straightforward, unadorned straight punch squarely in the Shaolin monk’s dantian. Watching the Shaolin monk spit blood and fly backward, a cold smile flashed across Lu Renjia’s face. Lu Renjia was no Zhang Wuji—indecisive and prone to forbearance. Besides, once the mission was complete, Lu Renjia could simply pack up and leave this world. As for the *Shaolin Dragon Claw Technique*, he had no interest in it. “Thud…” With a dull thud, the Shaolin monk was sent flying forty or fifty meters before crashing heavily to the ground. His dantian was ravaged by the overpowering, searing Nine Yang True Qi, effectively crippling his martial arts abilities. “Is there anyone left who doubts my words? I remember clearly what happened back on Wudang Mountain—it was you lot who drove my parents to take their own lives… Now, I, Zhang Wuji, have very few relatives left in this world. If anyone here still dares to go after my maternal grandfather today… Hmph… Though my martial arts might not be enough to kill every last one of you, still… You can run, but you can’t hide…I’ll make you pay for this, one by one!” Song Yuanqiao and the other four exchanged glances. Back in the day, the Seven Heroes of Wudang had been as close as brothers. On that fateful day, Zhang Cuishan had chosen to take his own life rather than betray his sworn brothers, and Song Yuanqiao and the others had carried the guilt of being unable to avenge Zhang Cuishan for many years. Now that “Zhang Wuji” had brought up the grudge against his parents, Song Yuanqiao and the others—as his senior masters—could only shake their heads and sigh bitterly. “Wuji… come back to Wudang Mountain when you have the chance… Our venerable Master has been thinking of you all this time…” Song Yuanqiao whispered softly, then turned to the Shaolin Abbot and said in a loud voice, “Today’s joint assault by the Six Great Sects on the Ming Sect has already caused much bloodshed, and what my nephew Wuji has said is surely true! Therefore, we of the Wudang School must return to the mountain to seek our master’s guidance before reaching a final decision…” Having said this, Song Yuanqiao, paying no heed to the Shaolin Abbot’s stunned expression, turned and left with his Wudang disciples. Suddenly, one of the Six Great Sects was missing, and not only had Abbess Mie Jue of the Emei Sect and the Two Elders of Mount Hua been directly subdued by Lu Renjia, but a Shaolin disciple had also been knocked down by “Zhang Wuji” at the very first clash. Given this level of power, perhaps only the hundred-year-old Zhang Zhenren in the entire martial arts world could stand against him—but since they were essentially from the same sect, could Zhang Zhenren really lay a hand on this “Zhang Wuji”? Just as the other party had said, “You can run away, but you can’t hide.” Having witnessed Lu Renjia’s formidable strength, the Shaolin Sect was indeed terrified. Given his ghostly speed, not only would they be unable to detain him, but if they let him escape, their sect would never know peace again. The Abbot of Shaolin clenched his teeth and barked harshly, “Amitabha… This monk must, of course, verify what Layman Zhang has said. If it is indeed as Layman Zhang claims, this monk, as the Abbot of Shaolin, will certainly give an explanation to all martial arts brothers and sisters across the land… Let’s go!”